On this page I have tried to compare and rate the releases from Westworld and tried to highlight which tracks I see as the most important on the individual releases. Go to my Westworld site to get a better overview of album and single releases.

Rating:7/10

Title: Westworld Promo Tape

Comments:

This was a promo tape that the band used to get themselves a record deal. They played this tape to the record company executives, but they never actually gave them the tape. The quality is not very good (old tape and demo sound and a few skips) but it was clear that all songs were already finished, they just needed a better production..

The tracks that never made it are quite ok. "Sunset" is a medium speed guitar based track and should probably have made the final cut. "Country Mile" sounds a lot like "Sonic Boom Boy" with different lyrics. Clear to see why it was left off. "Bullet Proof Shirt" is a pretty cool beatbox Westworld track with the boys singing. It should very much have made the cut. The rest of the songs are all demo versions of the later wellknown versions from the official release.

Westworld was founded in 1986, featuring: Bob "Derwood" Andrews, Elizabeth Westwood and Nick Burton. Westworld's "cartoon" image looked fantastic and beatbox and electronic drums meets classic rock'n'roll guitars was their sound. Pretty lightweight most of the time but entertaining and great pop music never-the-less.

The single "Sonic Boom Boy" was a rather big UK hit and the great video is worth tracking down on YouTube. The album is packed with hits and cool pop songs. It still sounds unique today. The cd bonus tracks are the original demo version and the 12" mix of "Ba-na-na-bam-boo".

The cd has 2 bonus tracks: Sonic boom boy (original), ba-na-na-bam-boomerang. This album was also released in the US under a different name "Rockulator".

Rating:9/10

Title: Rockulator

Comments:

Most of the songs are identical to the UK release. I guess you got to be a collector to want to buy both versions just to get the 2 songs with a different mix. But if you are a collector, then you obviously need this one.

This is a US release of the "Where The Action Is" album. It has a different trackorder, a different cover and different mixes of "Psychotech" and "Silver mac".

Rating:10/10

Title: Beatbox Rock 'n' Roll

Comments:

This was the second Westworld album and it is very much an extension of the debut album. The sound hasn't changed much and some of the songs were already known from 12" b-sides. Westworld always released great 12 inches with lots of different mixes and track titles. No matter what "Beatbox Rock 'n' Roll" is a really great album. It was only released in a limited market (Scandinavia, France, Australia and New Zealand).

The cd bonus tracks are a 12" mix of "Everything good is bad" and 2 extended mixes that never made it to official release. I've never seen "Johnny Blue" 12" in any form but the "Red Indian" 12" exists as a promo.

The album "Movers and Shakers" wasn't released until 1991 and only in the US. For this release the band had been reconstructed. Nick had been replaced by Gary Young and Tracey O'Conner(T.J.)

The sound on this third album has changed significantly. It has more of a rock'n'roll touch and is a bit more raw. The melodies are still great and it is a very enjoyable listen. Make sure you get the version with 2 bonus tracks as especially "So long cowboy" is a really cool track.

After this record I believe the band pretty soon split up and that was the end of Westworld. But the beginning of Moondogg...

Important Tracks:

10,000 miles, good love, do no wrong, stargazer, lipsyncher, last white buffalo, carefree custom eyes, wind song, so long cowboy.

Some versions do not contain the last 2 tracks: Once ya got it, so long cowboy.

Rating:7/10

Title: Beatbox Rock 'n' Roll - Greatest Hits

Comments:

This is basically a combination of the first 2 albums "Where The Action Is" and "Beatbox Rock'n'Roll". If you can find the original albums on cd I would advice you to buy them instead. They are cooler and you get some bonus tracks.

But if this one is all you can find then it ain't bad at all. Just ridiculous to make a compilation without including the third album. But I guess that it has something to do with some legal issues and shit.

This live gig was recorded at Portsmouth in England on 22nd December 1987. It was taped directly from the soundboard. It is an old recording and there's an amount of tape hiss but it still sounds great, and makes you wish you'd actually been there back then. Released as a digital download only.